HomeMy WebLinkAboutG.FLOODING PROBLEMSCITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Steve Fitzgibbons, City Manager
FROM: Leslie E. McMahen, P.E., Director of Public Works (,~" -
DATE: November 6, 2002
SUB3ECT: Reported Flooding at Beaumont Avenue and :t7m Street
The intersection of Beaumont Avenue and 17t~ Street is a point at which the curb
and gutter section of Beaumont Avenue intersects the open ditch section of 17~
Street, with 17~ being noticeably higher than Beaumont. Beaumont is an open
ditch street from 17th northward to Zwolle .Ditch, as do other avenues in the area.
The area around the intersection sits in the middle of a large fiat area at about 2
feet above sea level. There is also a storm sewer on 17th with catch basins at ~he
comers of the intersection, into which the ~17~ and Beaumont roadside ditches drain,
as does the curb and gutter section of Beaumont. The storm sewer on 17~ flows
toward Stilwell 8oulevard and then to DD7's Central Pump Station which has a
removal capacity equivalent to a 10-year storm event.
We have received numerous reports of street and yard flooding from only one
resident at that intersection, whose house is on a slab rather than on piers like most
of the other houses in the area. Understandably, the resident would be concerned
about street or yard flooding affecting her house, but the garage slab is high in
relation to the street level and the house slab is high in relation to the natural
ground level.
In October 2001 we installed a new culverts across 17~ and-18th, enlarged the
driveway culverts between 17~h and Zwolle and regrade the roadside ditches to
Zwolle Ditch in an attempt to alleviate any ponding at the intersection and to
provide an overflow for Beaumont across 17th. To our knowledge, the persistent
ponding problems at this intersection have diminished if not completely disappeared.
The intersection sits at the small-diameter-pipe (18'~) end of the storm sewer on
17~h, and because the Beaumont curb a6d gutter section is lower than 17m and as
Iow as its ditches, Beaumont will be the last to be cleared of accumulated water.
November g, 2002
During the last big rain event, Zwolle Ditch was flowing over bank-full for an
extended period of time. Once it began to recede, the storm sewer system on 17~h
begin to function again and after a while the water on Beaumont receded also. The
roadside ditches and storm sewer system were checked after the rain event and no
blockages were found.
The City's Master Drainage Plan proposes a new storm sewer line on 18th Street
from Stilwell Boulevard to Fort Worth Avenue (4,100~), and ranging in size from 48"
to 24" diameter. A project of this magnitude would cost approximately $600,000
with City crews doing the work over several years. This storm sewer is designed for
a normal 2-year design storm for the City's drainage system, not' on the 100-year+
storm .that we had on October 28, 2002.
2
CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Steve Fitzgibbons, City Manager /~
FROH: Leslie E. McHahen, P.E., Director of Public Works
DATE: November 8, 2002
SUB3ECT: Flooding in the W. :19u' S'ueet/KCS/W. 17~h Street/Kansas Avenue
This report is being offered as a partial report on the areas of concern expressed by
members of the City Council in regard to flooding in the referenced area as a result
of recent heaW rains.
We received numerous calls on October 28~h from residents in the area from W. 17~h
Street to W. 19~ Street and Kansas Avenue to the KCS Railroad right-of-way. We
dispatched personnel to the area and observed street and yard flooding, but we had
no reports of house or garage flooding. The drainage system was checked after the
water receded and no blockages were found.
The City's storm sewer system in the area is designed for a 2-year storm of the
magnitude of about 0.6" of rain per hour, whereas we had approximately 6" of rain
from midnight to 4:00 a.m. on the morning of October 28~h. Most of this rainfall
occurred within a two-hour period, and was well beyond the City's system to handle
and well beyond Drainage District No. 7's ability to remove it by pumping.
We have done some preliminary field work and gathered existing plans for street
work in the area to see what is happening in the area of concern and what
opportunities we have to do Iow-cost solutions to the flooding problem. The ditch
along the KCS Railroad flows from near W. 17~h northward to W. 19~ which could be
a minor problem, and we will look at ways to possibly redirect the flow. Also, the
intersection of _loe Louis at W. 19~ is the lowest intersection in the area although
the natural ground elevation in the area is relatively consistent. W. 19~ and
Louis street pavements each fall toward the intersection, thus directing the overland
and street flow of water to this Iow point. Since it is a Iow point, it will be one of the
last intersections in the area to drain.
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